


and we will be alright (alone in the sunlight)

by dsl914



Category: Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Pining!Karolina and Oblivious!Nico, also this is my first time writing in such a long time!, lemme know if there are any inaccuracies i should fix
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2020-12-28 01:08:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dsl914/pseuds/dsl914
Summary: Nico isn't sure why her family moved to America nor does she like it. It's too crowded and loud and everybody is mean to her. In fact, she hates almost everything about her new life, except for Karolina Dean, the blonde-hair blue-eyed girl that seems to radiate sunshine.(aka the 1920's deanoru au that nobody asked for)





	1. 1- as sweet as gummy bears

** _Summer of 1920_ **

Nico wasn’t quite sure why she was sitting in a strange car, squished between her mother and the side of the wall while her father struggled to lift a suitcase into the vehicle. She also wasn’t quite sure that she was in a _ car _. She had been in cars before, her family owned a boxy, black one that always smelled of jasmine. But the car she was sitting in was much bigger, shaped like a bird and had a nauseating gasoline smell. Nico also realized that the man in the driver’s seat was someone she did not recognize. As someone who was always taught to be wary of drivers that she didn’t know, this frightened the 8-year-old. Nico only knew the two drivers who picked up and dropped her off of school: Mr. Tadashi and Mr. Hiroshi, both of whom were soft-spoken elderly men. This driver, however, was a gruff, middle-aged man that held a cigarette in his mouth.

It’s then and there that Nico decides she _ hates _cigarettes.

Nico tugged on her mother's sleeve, “Haha, ano otoko wa daredesu ka?” _ Mother, who is that man? _

Her mother cast down a glance at her and looked back up, “Kare wa Amerika ni watashitachi o totte imasu.” _ He is taking us to America. _

“Amerika?” Nico whispered to herself. She’d heard of the country before in history class, where her teacher briefly talked about the great war where America and Japan were on the same side. But besides that, she was completely clueless what or where the country was. 

Just as Nico opened her mouth to ask another question, the man in the front seat shouted something incomprehensible and then shut the door that separated the door rooms. A loud rumble of the motor filled her ears as she watched as her parents pull the seat belt over their laps. The car then jerked forward and started to accelerate. Nico leaned back into her seat and glanced out of the window, still wondering what America meant. Was it like Tokyo? Were the trees in blossom like here? How long would it take to get there? Would she have to stay in this awful smelling car for long? When were they going back home? 

Not long after, though, her thoughts were overcome by pure excitement and confusion as she watched the ground start to sink from her line of vision. The feeling of weightlessness followed and Nico gasped at the tingle in my stomach. 

“Haha wa, haha, mite!” _ Mother, mother look! _Nico pulled her mother’s arm and pointed outside the window where the ground started to get even further away. 

“Hai, watashitachiha hikōki de tonde imasu,” _Yes, we are flying_ _on an airplane _she replied and then looked back to the book in her lap.

Nico pressed further into the window and stared at the world disappearing below them. An overwhelming feeling of amazement filled her tiny body as she watched a group of birds right beside her window.

_ We are like birds! _

For the rest of the trip, she preoccupied herself by drawing the clouds that floated beside her on the foggy glass.

* * *

A ray of sunlight beamed in Nico’s face as she slowly opened her eyes. She shifted to her other side, trying to hide herself from the blinding light. However, she became aware of the deafening rumbling of the plane and the uncomfortable stiffness of the seat she has in. Annoyed and defeated she slowly opened her eyes again and tugged at her mother who appeared to be eating hot congee out of a thermos.

“Haha ohayōgozaimasu. mada tsukanaino?” _ Good morning Mother. Are we there yet? _

“Ohayōgozaimasuniko. Watashitachi wa sugu soko ni aru koto o okonatte imasu” _ Good morning Nico. We are going to be there soon. _

Nico sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She realized the awkward angle of her sleeping position left her back and neck sore. Her father handed her a small pink thermos of hot congee and Nico gleefully ate it up, settling the hunger in her stomach. 

“Niko”

Nico turned her head to her father.

“Watashitachiha Amerika ni itte irunode, anata wa eigo o shitte iru hitsuyō ga arimasu” _ Since we are going to America, you need to know English. _

Nico sat up a little straighter and nodded her head.

“Watashi o kurikaeshimasu (_ repeat me) _: My name is Nico,” he commanded

She furrowed her eyebrows, “My… name… is Nico?” her voice was unsteady and the words seemed heavy on her tongue. 

Her father beamed at his daughter and continued, “Anata ga kore made ni ushinawa reta baai, telephone o tanomimasu” _ If you are lost ask for a ‘telephone’ _

“Tele...pone?”

Her father chuckled and smiled, “Telephone,” he replied, emphasizing the f sound.

Nico bit the inside of her cheek and nodded, repeating the word again with the correct f sound. 

“Kono bangō o daiyaru shimasu,” _ Dial this number _, he scribbled something down on a slip of paper and handed it to her.

Nico looked at the symbols written down on paper, recognizing them as numbers from the telephone they had in their house. She looked back up and nodded, folding and slipping the piece of paper into her jacket pocket. She practiced writing down the numbers incase she ever lost the paper and she was lost, she would be able to remember them.

The sun was high in the sky, indicating it was around noon when the pilot announced something Nico once again could not understand. 

“Watashitachi wa mōsugu tōchakuda” _ We are almost there _Her father informed. 

As they descended, a familiar wave of excitement washed over Nico, who watched as the city below her come to sight. She saw the long, roads crisscross and intersect with each other and the dozens of large, tall buildings that dotted the area. 

_ America! _

As soon as they landed, Nico bounced out of the plane and immediately scrunched her nose up. There was a foul smell of gasoline, much like the plane she had been sitting in for 12 hours and the booming sounds of planes echoed in the air. Not a great start as far as first impressions go. 

Her mother appeared behind her, urging her to move forward and at first she was confused where they were going, but soon realized they were heading towards a large, concrete building. Nico had never seen such a large structure in her life. The looming figure of the building along with its bland and flat design made the hairs on her neck stand up. This looked nothing like Tokyo with its quaint, colorful, and geometric buildings. 

As the family shuffled in, Nico was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people bustling around. She tightened her grip on her father’s hand. She was whisked through the building, up and down the stairs, through many doors, lines, and crowds. There were dozens of people of different colors, shapes, and sizes she had never seen before. She hid behind father as they conversed with many people in what she assumed was english. They waited on dozens of lines for hours at a time just to get to another line. As her legs started to give out, they finally arrived at the end of the building, or at least that’s what Nico assumed by the big sign that said “WELCOME TO LOS ANGELES” (Nico only understood it because of the tiny japanese translation under it).

* * *

Nico quickly realized that she was _ not _ welcome in America, not by the people around her at least. 2 days after landing, her parents decided to take a visit to the city to explore. Bubbling with energy, Nico hopped around the street, taking in the new scenery. Los Angeles was nothing like Japan. The buildings were more grand-looking and erect than the ancient Asian architecture she was used to. The streets were filled with cars and the sidewalks were swarmed with crowds of people, everything was just… _ filled _. The grocery stores were abundant with foods that she had never seen before, the gift shops had so many colorful and shiny gifts that Nico couldn’t keep stop ogling at. She wanted to buy every single one of the knick-knacks so that she could show them off to her friends back home and brag that she had been to America. 

She picked up a small bracelet with a gray glass moon hanging from the string and admired it. She loved the way the fat crescent shape felt in her hand and how it was transparent enough to see through the other side but saturated enough for the dark gray color to shine in the sunlight. Happiness bubbled from her chest as she spun around to ask her father to buy the bracelet

Her excitement however, was squashed when a large man grabbed her wrist from behind. Nico yelped in surprise and pain from the sudden grip. She spun around to meet the eyes of the shop owner who started to scream incoherently in her face. 

“You … piece …. trying to … dirty ….Stupid!” Nico panicked as she started to scream back and struggled to break free from his grip. Tears fell from her eyes as she pulled with all her strength. She twisted and pulled but nothing would loosen his grip, in fact it seemed to get tighter. He pulled her towards him and screamed even louder, raising his other hand behind him. She felt an even stronger wave of panic rise in her throat, screaming and tugging harder. 

All of a sudden her father came running towards the pair and shoved the man away from her, finally loosening his grip on her wrist. As her father and the man argued Nico’s mother rushed to Nico and bent down.

“Niko! Naniwoshita?” _ Nico! What did you do? _ She questioned.

Nico couldn’t speak, her throat was tight and she was breathing rapidly. She shook her head as some type of response and tried opening her mouth, but only sobs came out.

Her mother’s eyebrows furrowed, “Stop” she scolded. Nico recognized the simple command but it only made her start to cry harder.

Her mother pulled her to her feet and started to drag her out of the store, her father following them behind. Even though the man continued to follow the trio with a string of words Nico did not understand, she could still hear the malice dripping off his voice.

* * *

“Dōiu imidesu ka?!” _ What do you mean?! _Nico cried out. She felt the burning hot tears run down her cheeks as she screamed at her father.

“Dōshite watashitachi-ka ni kaerenai no?!” _ Why can’t we go home?! _ Her breathing was shaky and she pounded the floor with her feet. She had no idea why they could not go home. She thought this was a vacation, like the ones they took to Osaka or even to Mount Fiji, not some _ permanent _change. 

Ever since the shop incident, the magic of America started to fade. The crowds made her feel claustrophobic and small, the streets smelled, and the people were cruel to her. She didn’t understand why they would come to such an _ awful _place.

“Nico … This is home,” her father replied in a quiet tone. He bent down to the sobbing Nico and rubber her cheek, “Please understand,” he pleaded.

Nico understood the words coming out of her father’s mouth but she could not understand _ why _ . Why did they leave their nice, clean, quiet home in Tokyo for some loud, cold, city? Another wave of rage flooded her body. How could they _ lie _ to her? Deceive her and rip her away from her home, her home where all her friends were, where all her memories were? Now she would never be able to return to her favorite spot by the koi pond or play with her friends in the flat plains near her school building. 

Fueled by rage, Nico shook her head violently, sprung to her feet and ran away from her father. She opened the door to the back and started sprinting to the hilly area behind the house. 

She was not quite sure where she was heading but she knew she wanted to get away from her stupid parents and the stupid house, and the stupid people, and the stupid country they moved to. Her tiny legs carried her farther and farther from the house until it was no longer visible. Vision blurred by her tears, Nico felt a smooth, round rock under her foot which caused her slip and her ankle to bend painfully. Pain shot through her foot and she let out a loud screech before crumbling down.

She grabbed her ankle, wincing in pain while cradling herself on the ground. A mixture of anger, sadness, and pain whirled inside her chest and she couldn’t help but sob even harder.

_ Stupid Stupid! _

She pounded the ground with her fists and ripped the grass out, throwing as hard as she could. The rage swirled through her body like a hurricane, uncontrollable and furious. Surges of emotions drowned her, choking her like the waves of an ocean. 

_ “Niko...Watashitachiha Nihon ni kaeru tsumori wa arimasen” _ Nico… we are not going back to Japan _ her father sighed and put his hand on her shoulder, “America… is home” _

Nico ripped the grass out with more fury and cried even harder, the hard realization settling in her stomach. She felt sick. She pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed into herself, unaware of the figure approaching in front of her.

“Hello?”

The voice startled Nico as she shot her head up and scrambled to her feet, ignoring the sharp pain from her ankle and, quickly wiped the tears and snot from her face with her sleeve. From the shadow, she could tell the person was immensely tall, and they towered over her. The gnawing feeling of fear bubbled in her chest, afraid it was another unwelcoming man ready to strike her. 

Gulping, she looked up, only to meet a pair of soft blue eyes. It was a girl, about Nico’s age, wearing a white dress with red polka dots. The sunlight reflected off of her bright blonde hair, making Nico squint just from looking at her. The girl’s face was painted with a look of concern, and she stepped closer to Nico. 

Nico opened her mouth, trying to remember the basic phrases her father taught here, “Name … is Nico,” she cringed at her lack of ability to recall the full sentence and looked down. She prepared to be belittled by the stranger in front of her, expecting a fire of insults she could not understand. Instead all that came out of the stranger was:

“Oh, I’m Karolina… that’s a cool name”

Nico glanced back up in surprise. The taller girl looked back at Nico, her frown erased from her face and instead a look of curiosity.

“How do you spell that? Oh wait, wait no let me guess!” Karolina beamed, “So it sounds like it starts with an N, then an I… So thats N-I, and then… C-O? Yeah N-I-C-O”

Nico blinked at the girl in utter confusion. The girl spoke at such a rapid pace, it made her head spin. What was she saying? 

Karolina noticed Nico’s confused look and pursed her lips, “Hmm, do you not speak english? Oh! Maybe you can write!” she excitedly suggested.

Nico watched her as she took the small bag that was slung over her shoulder and rummaged through it. Karolina then pulled out a wooden pencil and a spiral notebook and flipped to a blank page. She thrusted it in Nico’s direction and looked at her expectantly.

Nico hesitantly took the notebook and pencil in her hands and looked back at Karolina.

“Go ahead, write your name!”

_ Name… ok _

Nico held the pencil in her hand, it was much lighter than the ball point pens and brushes she was used to back home. After scribbling her name down, she handed back to Karolina who looked at with confusion.

“Huh? What is this? This looks like a bunch of lines!”

Nico cocked her head and blinked, “My name,” she replied. 

Karolina looked back at the notebook once again and frowned, “Well I think this,” she wrote something down onto the paper, “is your name.” She handed her the notebook once more and there, in big, squiggly letters was the name “Nico”

Nico once again scrunched her eyebrows together, “I… don’t understand” 

Karolina held the paper in front of Nico and pointed to the letters, “This is an ‘N’ its pronounced like nuh or no, then this is ‘I’ it sounds like eek! Then is is a ‘C’ and that’s pronounced like cat or cold. And then this is ‘O’ like octopus, So all together it makes NuheeCo,” she explained carefully. 

Taking this in Nico nodded and sniffed, her nose still stuffy and swollen from her outburst a few moments ago. 

She took the notebook and pencil from Karolina and carefully mimicked the letters the taller girl had written down. She glanced down at the shakey letters. 

“N...I….C...O?” she questioned. 

Karolina’s face lit up as she gave her a thumbs up, “Yeah! Exactly!”

Nico beamed back at her and then shifted her feet, wincing in pain as burning sensation shot through her foot. Karolina immediately noticed the smaller girl’s discomfort and sprung towards her.

“I forgot you hurt your ankle! I saw you fall down and start crying... “ she trailed off as she knelt down and rummaged through her bag once again. Pulling out a small white box, she gestured Nico to sit down and the girl obeyed. Karolina scooted closer to her and rolled her the cuff of her pants up. Grabbing a small band aid out of her box, she carefully placed it over the black and blue bruise that started to form the outside of her ankle. 

Nico watched the blonde girl as she smiled at her patch-up job, then kissed her palm and gingerly placed her hand on the girls ankle. The light touch of her hand lingered on her skin for a second, igniting a hot flash through Nico’s face. When Karolina pulled away, she found that the smaller girl was crying again.

“Nico? Hey what’s wrong?” the taller girl looked at her with concern.

Sniffling and wiping her face with her sleeve, Nico shook her head. 

“Sorry … you … good … nice,”

Karolina grinned and sat next to the other girl, whose breath finally started to calm down and her tears had stopped falling. The pair sat in silence for a few seconds before a loud growl erupted from Nico’s stomach. 

She instantly felt her face ignite again as Karolina giggled beside her. She then watched her pull out a small plastic bag of what seemed to be colorful, miniature bears with the big letters ‘HARIBO’ printed on the front

“Try these, my dad brought got these back from Germany on a business trip. I think they’re called gummy bears,” Karolina ripped open the top and handed the bag over to Nico who hesitantly stuck her hand in it.

She curiously looked at the gelatinous candy and then popped it into her mouth. Instantly surprised by the explosion of sweetness, Nico grinned and started to chew the candy.

“Sweet! Like you! I like,” the girl declared and popped another two into her mouth.

If Nico wasn’t so busy with the new treat, she might have noticed the wide, lop-sided grin that was plastered on Karolina’s face as she watched her eat. 

The two sat together on the hill, and while Nico enjoyed the gummy bears, Karolina went on endlessly about her whatever came to mind. Even though she didn’t understand most of what the blonde was saying, Nico did understood two things: Karolina was very nice and talked very fast.

“They’re never home and a lot of the times when my friends talk about their parent’s it makes me sad,” Karolina glanced at Nico who nodded her head in agreement and placed another gummy bear into her mouth, “You know sometimes I wish I had a sibling so I could talk to them about how stupid our parents are. But I’m just stuck with an empty house and nobody,” she sighed.

Again, Nico nodded and continued chewing, offering no sort of input.

“Do you have any siblings Nico?” Karolina asked.

Once the air became silent, Nico stopped chewing and glanced up to see Karolina looking at her expectantly.

“S-sibling?”

“Yeah, like a brother or sister?”

“What?”

Karolina pulled out her notebook again and started to draw a stick figure. She drew four stick figures in fact, one tall one, one slightly shorter one, and two smaller ones.

“See this is you,” she wrote Nico’s name over one of the smaller figures, “and do you have a sibling?” She pointed at the other small drawing.

Nico breathed in sharply, finally realizing what Karolina was asking. Her throat became dry and she started to feel the overwhelming sensation to cry. She wasn’t ready for this again. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and sighed. 

“Eimi,” was all Nico could muster. 

“Amy?” Karolina questioned. 

In any other situation, Nico would have been slapped and scolded for saying her name out loud, as her late sister was a forbidden topic. But something about Karolina’s concerned look and soft eyes made Nico feel safe to talk about it.

“Um… not in America,” Nico explained, nervously picking at the grass and avoiding eye contact. 

“Where is she then?”

Silence.

“Nico?”

“Dead,” Nico finally whispered. She closed her eyes and exhaled. It had been a while since she recalled her sisters death. Amy’s death had hit the Minoru family like a ton of bricks, and while both of her parents seemed to take it better than anyone had expected, Nico could tell they had changed. Her father’s face was permanently glazed over, like he had lost all meaning in the world and her mother already closed off demeanor turned bitter and cold. She didn’t just lose her older sister that day, she had lost her entire family. 

“Oh Nico… I’m sorry,” Karolina pulled the smaller girl into a tight hug and placed her hand on the back of her head, almost cradling it. 

Nico instantly melted into her, burying her face in Karolina’s shoulder. She couldn’t remember the last time she hugged someone. Karolina’s larger frame made it easier for Nico to be enveloped in a warmth she had long forgotten existed. For a moment, she forgot about the pain of her sister’s death, the terror of new country and people, and even the betrayal of her parents.

Even when they pulled apart, Nico still felt the warmth of Karolina’s embrace surrounding her.

“Thank you,”

Karolina silently nodded and smiled.

“I think I have to go back now… can you get home?” Karolina glanced at the sky and stood up, brushing a few blades of grass off herself. 

Nico followed her up and looked behind her trying to recall where she was. She took a couple of steps up the hill she had previously tumbled down and squinted, recognizing the outline of her house.

“Yes”

“Hey um Nico… do you think you can come back here tomorrow at the same time?” Karolina called behind her.

Nico instantly nodded her head, excited at the idea of seeing her blonde friend again.

“Ok! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Bye!”

Bubbling with happiness, Nico skipped all the way home, her thoughts of her new friend masking the dull ache that radiated from her ankle.

* * *

Apparently, Karolina was determined to teach Nico english during their daily meetings. Everyday at noon she would pack two sets of pencils and notebooks along with a pack of gummy bears into her small backpack and set out for the hills. 

Nico would always be waiting there by the time Karolina arrived, either picking the flowers or watching the clouds in the sky. The light reflecting off of Karolina’s hair would catch Nico’s eye and the small girl would come skipping towards her. 

“Karrie! Karrie! (Nico found Karolina’s full name to be too difficult to pronounce and anyways Karolina loved the nickname) Here!” Nico would hand her a carefully constructed flower crown made of whatever flower was most abundant. The gift made Karolina’s heart soar everytime.

With the crown perched on her head, Karolina would settle down next to Nico and pull out her pencils and paper along with the gummy bears. The two would sit beside each other and Karolina would start teaching Nico the alphabet. When she learned all the letters, they moved onto simple words, and when she learned those, they went onto bigger words, and when she picked those up, she taught her even bigger words, until Karolina ran out of words to teach her. 

After a while Karolina started to bring her books to help her find words to teach Nico.

“Nico, you are so smart,” Karolina once commented

Lying on her stomach with the dictionary splayed out in front of her, Nico looked up at the blonde girl and gave her a toothy grin.

“You are too, Karrie,” she responded and then continued reading out loud.

In silent moments like these, Karolina loved to stare at Nico and admire at how effortlessly she just… existed. She liked the way Nico’s dark, lobbed hair gently blew in the breeze and how she always picked at the grass when she read, fully immersed in the words in front of her. Sometimes, just as Karolina arrived, she would stop and watch Nico dance and frolic in the fields for a few seconds just before the smaller girl would spot her and come bounding towards her. In fact, Karolina realized she liked watching Nico _ alot _. Whenever they ate (they started bringing lunches to their meetings), she would watch Nico delicately pick up each grain of rice and bring it to her mouth, and when they read, she would always stare Nico’s face as it contorted, sounding out each word and syllable with care. Most of the times, Nico wouldn’t notice, as her attention was focused on whatever she was doing, but Karolina didn’t mind, she thought that it would have been embarrassing for Nico to catch her staring anyways.

“Karrie?” she heard a voice from behind her

“Yeah Nico?” she answered, turning to face the shorter girl

“What is… _ shiny _? I don’t understand,” Nico handed her the book and pointed to the word on the page.

Karolina took the book in her hands and scanned over the passage, chewing on her bottom lip as she thought about how to explain the term to her. When she caught a glimpse of her bracelet she immediately took it off.

“This bracelet is shiny,” she held it up to Nico’s face as the other nodded, “When the sunlight hits it… it glows kinda,” Karolina angled the piece of jewelry so that the light of the sun bounced off into Nico’s face.

“Oh, like your hair and eyes! Always so beautiful and … shiny!” Nico exclaimed and then grabbed the book back to continue reading.

A dark blush formed on Karolina’s face and she looked at the ground.

“Oh yeah, I guess,” she muttered while playing with a strand of her hair.

A lot of the times she didn’t understand why Nico’s compliments affected her so. She was constantly showered with compliments and praise from adults she didn’t even know.

_ Karolina you are just so radiant! _

_ Oh Karolina sweety! Look how gorgeous you are in that pretty dress! _

_ My, my aren’t you growing into such a lovely young lady _

Karolina _ knew _ they were all well meaning and well, sometimes it _ did _ make her smile and feel really pretty. But she knew that most of the times they she could tell they were artificial comments, made out of an obligation to seem friendly. Even at 7 years old, she understood that most of the time people were nice to her so that they could appeal to her parents. And even though they weren’t _ lying _straight to her face, nobody actually cared about how nice she looked. If she were honest, Karolina felt more like a prop doll than an actual human being, put on earth to simply smile and portray the perfect daughter. She would pretend to graciously take the nice comment, say thank you and then move onto the next, and the next, and the next, all while she was at the side of her parents. Her parents.

Leslie and Frank Dean.

The pair were, undoubtedly, the most powerful and affluent couple in the entire west coast area, controlling nearly all of the country’s oil imports under the Gibborim Petroleum Company. 

Karolina knew that they had their hands full with running company and that their absence was nearly a byproduct of their success, but sometimes she wished she saw them more often. She wished they would be home for just a day rather than being gone for weeks at a time and then unexpectedly pop in the house for a few hours only to disappear for another month. Whenever she expressed her unhappiness to her friends they would scoff at her and tell her to feel lucky that she had such a big house and nice clothes. And some part of Karolina did rationalize this, how could she complain about her life when she had such a luxurious life? It’s not like her parents were ever mean to her or belittled her. 

So she shoved her feelings of loneliness down and continued to smile.

At dinner parties, she played the part of the perfect daughter, twirling around the living room to entertain the guests. She would momentarily forget how empty her house was when it was filled with dozens of dressed up adults filling the rooms with chatter. It was also the only time she’d ever get to spend time with her parents, even if it was just to follow them around and welcome guests.

At the end of the night, Karolina’s cheeks would feel sore and her feet would ache, but her parents would kiss the top of her head and praise her for behaving so well and it was in those moments that she knew she was only worth how well she behaved or how pretty her dress was.

Maybe that’s why Nico’s compliments always made her heart soar like nothing else. They never focused on her clothes or how lady-like she was, they were genuine and honest, like she was just telling her the facts. She never over embellished her praise like she was trying to impress Karolina (granted she did have a limited vocabulary) nor did she ever expect a response from the other girl. Nico would just point out how beautiful her eyes were and then continuing whatever she was doing, leaving the blonde flattered and unable to talk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyoo! i hope you enjoyed this chapter im super pumped to be writing again :) this is supposed to be set in the 1920s so some of the references might be a tad inaccurate (sometimes google isn't the best research source oops) if you catch one please let me know!  
also, the japanese was entirely translated by google (and some other internet translators) so im so sorry to anybody fluent japanese speakers. (on a side note if anybody want to help me translate hit me up).  
thank you so much for reading!  
tumblr: lyricaokano


	2. what eyes learn from each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nico and karolina hate expectations  
(or maybe they hate every thing except each other)

_ **summer of 1920** _

It took about three weeks into Nico’s daily disappearances for her parents to question the whereabouts of their daughter. 

It was on a particular humid August evening when the pair arrived home, exhausted and frustrated from the events of the day.

“Robert, they should be  _ grateful _ that we’re even here! Making us uproot our lives and then giving us nothing in return for our help, our  _ resources _ ” Tina huffed and plopped onto the hard wooden chair, tugging her hair out of the tight bun. 

Robert pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to control the bubbling rage that was pitted in his stomach, “I’m aware Tina, but the Dean’s are under an immense amount of pressure. They have  _ all  _ of us down their throats, and not to mention the government watching their every move,” He sighed, lighting the cigar that sat in his mouth and taking a deep inhalation, “Just… wait until  _ after  _ the dinner party to discuss it.”

Tina rolled her eyes, and clicked her tongue, “The Dean’s and their over-the-top parties… maybe if they focused a little more on the business we wouldn’t have these issues. Then maybe we could focus on our own lives, like the new line of cars we’re designing, or even renivating this stupid house!”

“Or, you know… we could focus on Nico. She’s been having a hard time, having to leave home and everything” he took another puff of his cigar and looked at his wife expectantly. It was in these moments where he questioned the woman in front of him.

Where was her heart?

“Yeah Nico… Speaking of which, where is she? I told her to be back before sunset,” Tina stood up and peered out of the window. The sky was tinted a light purple and orange, with the sun peaking just behind the hills on the horizon. 

It was unlike Nico to be tardy, nevermind to disobey her mother’s command. 

But if she was honest with herself, it seemed like Nico was a completely different child. Her outbursts, screaming, and tantrums felt more forigen than the country, thousands of miles and an entire ocean apart from home, they currently resided in. Both of the Minoru children were always well behaved and kept in line, each without any incident of disrespect or disobedience.

Even after Amy’s death (and the subsequent increase of Tina’s aggravated attitude), Nico still remained proper and compliant towards her.

And maybe it was because Tina couldn’t understand the fact that Nico was tired of being obedient and calm and compliant is why she stayed out past her curfew, preoccupied with braiding Karolina Dean’s hair.

(or maybe it was because Nico lost track of time while spending time with Karolina and really didn’t care what happened to her as long as she could be with her for as long as possible)

“Karrie, you have a lot of hair,” Nico mumbled, locks of Karolina’s thick blonde hair intertwined with her fingers as she tried to figure out which piece was supposed to overlap with which. 

Karolina flicked her eyes up, trying to look at the girl behind her before readjusting her legs and stretching them out from their original crossed position, “Is that a bad thing?” she questioned as her fingers twirled a small daisy she had picked from the ground.

Even though she knew Karolina couldn’t see her, Nico instinctually shook her head as a reflex to emphasize just how wrong Karolina was. 

“No!” Nico stopped, surprised at how aggressive the word tumbled out of her mouth, “No… it’s a very good thing, really… beautiful,” her voice faltered just slightly as she finished her sentence. She couldn’t quite figure out where the small lump in her throat came from, but she swallowed it down anyways, ignoring her confusion and continued to tug at the other girls hair.

“Oh, good,” Karolina beamed.

Nico hummed in agreement. 

Karolina looked up again in an attempt to catch a glance of her friend working on her hair, but instead all she could see was the soft hues of purple and yellow swirling with each other in the sky above her.

It was funny how colors seemed brighter nowadays.

So, she closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of the gentle tugs on her scalp, on the summer breeze that would tickle her nose every once in a while, and on how sometimes when Nico’s fingers would accidently brush her against her neck, chills would run through her body.

Karolina quickly came to the conclusion that she really liked the feeling of the other girl touching her skin, especially when she swept the loose strands of hair behind her ear, tracing a line from her cheekbone, over her ear and all the way to her jawline with her index finger.

“Karrie?” Nico questioned so softly that Karolina almost thought it was the wind, “Can.. can you give me the flower?”

Her fingers stopped fidgeting with the small daisy and she raised it above her head. As Nico took the flower out of her hand, their fingers brushed against each other and Karolina could swear, despite the warm summer air surround the two, Nico’s hands were the warmest thing she’d ever felt. 

She wondered what it would be like to hold them.

The thought quickly passed as she felt Nico stood and stepped in front of her.

“Close your eyes”

She did. 

If she was being honest, Karolina felt a little self conscious having her eyes closed while Nico was looking at her, and somehow the thought of having Nico so close to her when she was so vulnerable made her face hot, intensifying the nervousness that was pitted in her stomach.

She couldn’t figure out why she had suddenly gotten so nervous. What was Nico planning on doing? God why was she taking so long? Why is it so quiet?

With her embarrassment now on display and her mind racing, an even more intense wave of heat coursed through her body. Just as she felt her eyes prying open in an attempt to ease her anxiety, the back of Nico’s hand brushed up against her forehead as she carefully tucked the flower under a tuft of hair that sat right above Karolina’s ear. 

In almost an instant she swore that her heart stopped. 

(It did)

Without thinking, she opened her eyes, unable to contain the feeling that bubbled out of her chest.

Brown eyes.

Karolina learned that Nico’s eyes glimmered in the sunlight.

And honestly, if she could stare into Nico’s eyes all day, she’d be perfectly content with her life.

It was Nico who broke the silence first, “I brought … a mirror,” she grabbed her small bag and pulled out a small hand-held mirror and held it up to Karolina’s face.

The red tint to her face was painted across her cheeks, and Karolina was almost positive it was visible enough for the other girl to notice it. But the feeling of embarrassment faded as soon as she caught sight of her hair.

The braid was admittedly messy, uneven with lumps and tufts of hair improperly tangled with each other and really, Karolina wasn’t even sure if she could have considered it a braid. 

She cracked a smile. Even though it was a real wreck and it  _ so  _ ruined her ‘perfect little girl persona’, she loved it. It was so...Nico, jumbled and unkempt but so… perfect. 

Perfect.

It seemed that Karolina was haunted by that word from the day she could even understand what it meant.

Perfect hair, perfect face, perfect smile. Perfect friends, perfect family, perfect house. 

What made them perfect? She often questioned. Because, to her, most of those things weren’t even that great, nevermind perfect. 

Sure, she knew she was pretty, if the comments from dozens of adults already didn’t hint at it, the not-so-subtle ogling looks from boys sure did. But it didn’t really mean anything to her, she just happened to get lucky in the genetic department. It wasn’t something she could pride herself on achieving. 

As for her friends and family? Karolina thought they did a pretty pathetic job at even being decent. Most of the time she spent with her friends were just spent sneering about how they were so much better than the other kids or trying to boast about their new clothes or toys or whatever. And she couldn’t even remember the last time she spent time with her parents. 

But Karolina did know she had one thing perfect. Nico.

“I love it Nico,” she simply stated before lunging her body forward to embrace the smaller girl.

Nico faltered back, unstable from the unexpected hug, and fell to her back, taking Karolina down in the process.

(so this is how falling for someone starts. literally)

A tiny squeak came out of her mouth as the blonde toppled over her and she put her hand behind her to catch her fall before they rolled down the hill.

“Sorry Karrie… I wasn’t-”

Blue eyes.

Nico learned that Karolina’s eyes got brighter when she laughed.

Despite knowing what the sunrise on Mount Fuji and spring-time blossoming cherry trees looked like, Nico wondered if she had ever seen anything more beautiful than Karolina Dean’s eyes.

“No Nico, its my fault. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Karolina was half lying though, because if scaring Nico was the only way to hug her, she could live with that. (it was a bit cynical, even for the ever-growing rebellious Karolina).

Karolina rolled off the younger girl, trying to detach their entangled limbs, and laid down beside her.

“Can I tell you something?” she asked after the other girl laid down beside her.

Nico hummed.

“I want to fly”

Nico scrunched her face and sat up to face her friend.

“Karrie, you’re a girl, not a bird,” a laugh spilled out of her mouth until she met Karolina’s eyes. The serious gaze on the other girl’s face confused her.

“No, I meant that… I want to fly a plane. Like the ones that the army uses you know? Its stupid, cause only men get to do that but sometimes I dream… that I can be a pilot and fly across the sky and leave my stupid parents and my stupid house and everything,” Karolina was breathing hard, the weight of her words pressing on her chest, stabbing at her like a knife she couldn’t avoid. 

The more she felt the heaviness, the more Karolina realized how intensely those dreams burned weighing inside her. She never told anybody that. She didn't even realize she still believed in that fantasy anymore. (when did she convince herself her dreams were stupid?)

“I love planes! When you fly one, will you take me?” Nico excitedly sat and beamed at Karolina.

The pain in her chest eased a little bit.

“Karrieee! Will you? I want to go to the sky with you,” she pleaded and Karolina swore in that moment that she’d do anything to fly with Nico.

“I… Ok”

An excited giggle escaped Nico’s mouth and the two flopped back down to the ground in a bliss. That joy however subsided as the realization of the time dawned on Nico.

“Karrie!” she shot up, “I… I need to go home!” She quickly scrambled up and began shoving her things back into her small napsack.

“Wait Nicooo… I hate going home,” Karolina pouted, trying to hold onto to Nico’s arm while she furiously packed. 

“Why?” Nico’s stopped and looked at her friend, her voice flowed so gently in the air it almost felt like Karolina could ride it and float to the clouds. That’s be nice. To fly into the sky with Nico and never come down.

“I feel like nobody sees me. I’m just a pretty face and that… I’m supposed to just sit there and be quiet until someone needs me to smile and pretend that everything is great. Nobody knows me,” her voice cracked and the threat of tears choked her silent.

“I know who you are” 

She looked up

Brown eyes. 

Nico stared back at her.

Blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, i bring this fluff chapter with such a bitter feeling from the cancellation news. no worries however, because as im going through my stages of grief, my hyperfixation strengthens. sorry for taking a while, the next one should be coming. be ready for found families bc im emo. again, sorry for any inaccuracies and grammar mistakes and as always thank you for reading.  
tumblr: lyricaokano


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